Wednesday 30 July 2008 19.01 EDT
First published on Wednesday 30 July 2008 19.01 EDT

"Welcome to the kingdom of Tonga. Long live the king!" says a sign at the airport in this tiny South Pacific country as guests flood in for the coronation of King George Tupou V tomorrow.

There are banners along the dusty roads to the capital, Nuku'alofa, along with flags, bunting and arches decorated with flowers, banana leaves and photographs of the king.

Tonga, a tiny collection of 170 coral islands between New Zealand and Hawaii, is in celebratory mood. It is 41 years since the last coronation - that of the king's father, who died in 2006 and whose struggle with obesity led to him being named the fattest monarch on the planet.

In these modern times, the 60-year-old bachelor king has divested himself of his business interests and relinquished much of his power as absolute ruler in favour of a more representative, elected parliament in the run-up to his own coronation. The king says he is "voluntarily surrendering his powers to meet the democratic aspirations of his people" but the pro-democracy riots in 2006, when eight people died and central Nuku'alofa was set alight, have had a lot to do with his decision.

Nevertheless, people regard Tonga's royal heritage as integral to their country's culture and identity, and appear pleased at the reforms that give the monarch more of a figurehead role. Feleti Sevele, the prime minister of the last monarchy in the South Pacific, believes it is also crucial in getting the country's tourist industry up and running properly. "The other countries in the Pacific that have lost their royal families - they regret it now," he told the Guardian.

The cost of the celebrations - up to £2m - has been criticised but the prime minister of this relatively poor island nation is unapologetic. "This is about joy and celebration and pride in being Tongan," he said. "It is putting our country in the world's spotlight."

During four days of festivities there will be three coronation balls, a military parade, traditional dancing, a fireworks display, a rugby match and an open air concert. Yesterday, in an ancient ceremony that involved the offering of pigs and food baskets and the imbibing of a mildly narcotic drink called kava, the king was anointed ruler by nobles and clan chiefs at Pangai Lahi, a hallowed gathering area near the royal palace on the Nuku'alofa seafront.

The ceremony of taumafa kava represented a traditional act of homage to mark the king's "sacred authority" conferred by his ancestry, which stretches back to the 17th century. As befits such a hierarchical society, seating of the nobles was arranged in a wide circle to reflect the rank of all the participants.

The king was dressed in the national attire of a white shirt and tupenu, similar to a sarong. Bound around his waist with coconut cord were two royal waist mats called aofivala that are reputed to be 500 years old. The so-called "mats of power" are said to possess the wisdom and mystique of those who have worn them in the past.

With the king sitting alone in an open, tented pavilion topped with a giant crown, the two-and-a-half-hour open air ceremony revolved around a lavish, choreographed ritual in which the roots of a plant were hacked off, pounded with stones and mixed with water to make kava. Later, children lit thousands of torches to illuminate the shores of the main island.

The most lavish celebration is due tomorrow when the king will be formally enthroned in church. The throne, a handsome gilt chair made in China, arrived only last week on a specially chartered DHL plane. Ermine robes and a gold sceptre have been ordered from London and foreign dignitaries have been invited. Britain will be represented by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

King George is best known outside Tonga for his taste for military uniforms and for being driven around the capital in a London cab. Once a playboy prince, it had been rumoured that some of his celebrity friends such as Mick Jagger, Sean Connery and Elton John would attend, but the model Elle McPherson is the only confirmed celebrity so far.